


Rebirth of Creation

by TheSkyclanCat



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Ash Ketchum is mentioned but this is so far in the future that he's long dead, Cat into pokemon tf, Don't lynch me please, Firestar becomes a red Arceus, Gen, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I'm probably going to hell for this, This Is STUPID, no betas we die like men, no one will read this anyway, pretty OOC, there are no fics like this one so I decided to go for it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSkyclanCat/pseuds/TheSkyclanCat
Summary: Arceus has been sealed away for too long. Too bad the only way out of his prison is to take over a pure-hearted body. Good thing someone with that description happens to come across his seal...
Relationships: Arceus & Firestar
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	1. Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> The fic no one asked for and the fic no one wanted. This is a plot bunny that I needed to get down so don't judge. Golden rule: if you don't like then don't read. This is my first time writing so please go easy on me.

Billions of years ago, he had shaped the universe. Born of chaos, he wandered until loneliness set in and desired companionship. So he had created his sons, who coincidentally, had jump-started time, space, and antimatter into existence. It hadn't been enough, so he started creating more, shaping more. He ruled the universe with all his creations living happily on the planet he created just for them. Then the outliers began appearing.  


Humans  


He wasn't even sure where they came from. Either one of his or Mew's creations had evolved or someone had created them instead, but all he knew was that he hadn't created them. His opinion on humans were rather mixed. On one end of the spectrum, a group of humans had saved his life and returned his Life Plates back to him. On the opposite end, humans were greedy, disgusting, dangerous individuals that had enslaved his creations into Pokéballs, forced them fight for the humans entertainment and kept taking whatever they wanted. They were slowly destroying the earth, even if they thought otherwise. Not to mention one human had tried killing him in order to keep the Jewel of Life for himself.  


It had all culminated to a point where some humans that called themselves the Origin Cult tried to capture him and bend him to their will. They wanted to return the world and/or universe back to their origins, if that made sense. Arceus didn't really know what their endgame was; he hadn't cared. All he knew were some humans were spouting nonsense and trying to capture him. They failed of course(he was a god, the Alpha, like Pokéballs were going to actually work), and he would have killed them for the sheer disrespect, but they realized that if he couldn't be captured via Pokéball or like methods, they would seal him instead until they found a way to enslave him. So through sheer dumb luck, they had managed to seal his spirit into some crystal prison and accidentally sent it to a whole other dimension using powers they didn't understand. Where had they gotten such power anyways? He didn't know or care. Here was the Lord of Creation trapped in some stupid seal that he, HE, couldn't escape from unless someone with a pure heart took him into their body. Or at least, that's what the inscription said on the crystal. Fantastic.  


Arceus gave a sigh. Pure hearts were so hard to come by nowadays. Even if Ash were still alive (bless his soul, Ash was the only human that truly mattered), he wouldn't find it in him to take over his body like that. He could still sense the auras in this world and none of the humans were... particularly pure hearted. If anything, most of them couldn't care less about the world they lived on. Ever since the humans in this world made technological advancements, they started polluting the world even more. Once again taking what they wanted. Slowly destroying the planet that so graciously housed them. It was a disgusting and cruel cycle he would be forced to watch as long as humans existed. Arceus was resigned to his fate. His children wouldn't know what universe he landed in and there were no pure hearts for him to take over. Would his prison finally break when the sun exploded and incinerated the Earth? He could easily tank such an event, but that was another few billion years away. No one was coming for him.

Until that is, a pure hearted human came tumbling down into the underground chamber he was being held in. 

Arceus jolted awake. He could sense a pure heart coming closer to his prison. He had been waiting for this moment for years now. He would never take over Ash's body, but anyone else was fair game. He was getting desperate after all. The prison and constant darkness were making him go stir crazy. Well, it wasn't constant darkness. The crystal he was in lit up the room pretty well. He was just sick of seeing the same cavern for years on end. The figure in the room got closer and Arceus blinked(or tried to; kind of hard when you have no physical form). That wasn't a human. He reached out with his senses again. Yes, the signal wasn't coming from a human, it was coming from... a cat? He didn't realize the animals in this world were intelligent enough to even be pure hearted, but beggars can't be choosers. The cat looked horribly confused and tussled up from the how many ways fall from the surface (it was a pretty far way down, he had used the little aura he could use to check). Ginger fur like fire and leaf-green eyes. It was a beautiful specimen wasn't it? Ah, it was male too. Perfect. A female would have been awkward... 

The cat turned away to exit the chamber, probably trying to find a way back to the surface. That wouldn't do. He needed this cat to touch his prison so he could transfer his spirit into it. Arceus reached out and sent out the call. The cats ears pricked up and turned back towards the crystal, confusion and curiosity shining in his eyes. Arceus called for him again, "Closer..." The cat approached his prison and examined it. He was so close to touching the crystal that Arceus' spirit quivered in anticipation. He was so close to freedom... The cat touched the crystal lightly with its tail before it shot up and made way for the exit, suddenly unnerved with the area. But that contact was all Arceus needed for his spirit to enter the cats body and made his way to chamber where the cat's soul was housed. 

He was very happy with what he saw. The cat's soul was luminous. Pure heart, beautiful soul, fairly young, and with experience in battle (he was rifling through the cats memories and found so much). This was too good to pass up. But the cat almost reminded him of Ash, and it would be such a waste to permanently erase this cat from existence. Beings like him were so rare to come by. He mulled it over a bit. Maybe if they were to merge instead of just Arceus taking over? Arceus nodded to himself. He would be able to view the world from a different perspective. How a small pokémon, or rather cat, saw the world, how he could improve on future projects, improve himself. Hopefully the cat would understand; he needed this. He pressed his spirit into the cats soul and entered it, and began the process of merging their souls and changing the cats body into his own.

_______________________________________________________________

Firestar had no idea what was going on. He had only wanted to take a short walk outside of camp. All of his responsibilities and especially the prophecy weighed down on him and he just wanted to escape for a night. The clans had never been so divided before. Starclan, for possibly the first time ever, was divided. Jayfeather was being accused of murder, the Dark Forest was rising, and he didn't know what to do. He just really wanted to claw Tigerstar's face off (why couldn't he just stay dead?). 

Then all of a sudden while he was walking, he felt the ground beneath him shift and then give way. He was too slow to react and went tumbling down a very, very long shaft that he figured belonged to the tunnels strewn around and under the lake territories. Miraculously, he wasn't hurt, just some ruffled fur, but looking up the tunnel that had spat him out far underground, he realized it was going to be a very long climb back up to the surface. He was so far down, there wasn't any sort of light coming down from the tunnel. He winced. This wasn't going to fun at all. Then he saw a glow a little ways away from him. Sometimes he still felt like that kittypet that wanted to explore and see what the world had to offer beyond his confinements. The glow seemed enticing. His gaze kept switching from the hole to the glow, and then back again, debating with himself. His curiosity won out over his concern for getting back to his clan and went to check out what the glow was. It wouldn't be for too long anyways...

He entered the underground chamber and saw the most mesmerizing thing. It was a beautiful, shiny, clear, white rock-like substance. It kind of reminded him of the Moonstone in a way. This thing was even bigger than the Moonstone he figured. Eyes scanning the room, there was nothing else that interested him or could help him climb back to the surface. The rock was beautiful, but he needed to get back to the Clan before cats started asking where their leader was. He turned around and started making his way back to the tunnel. He braced himself for a long climb up...

"Come closer...come to me."

His ears pricked up immediately. Who had said that? It had sounded like someone or something had directly spoke into his head. He turned around and looked back at the shiny rock. Was it him or what it glowing brighter than before? He padded up towards it. "Was...was that you?" Firestar murmured. 

"Closer..."

Yes, it was definitely coming from the shiny rock, with it glowing even brighter with every step he came closer to it. He circled around and examined it more closely. There were weird markings that looked scratched into the stone that he couldn't make sense of. Firestar didn't know how anyone could make scratches that deep and detailed like that. One could damage their claws doing so. He brushed the stone lightly, feeling its smoothness with his tail, before it glowed with such an intensity that he shot up made his way back to the tunnel. What was he doing? He needed to get out of here, not admire some pretty rock! There was something about it didn't feel right... it wasn't like standing before the Moonstone or Moonpool and being in Starclan's presence. It was like he stood in front of something he couldn't begin to describe and it unnerved him so. He didn't realize that the rock had dimmed until the glow was only barely lighting the chamber up. The inscription disappeared entirely, its purpose spent. 

He didn't make it half way across the chamber before he felt a weird tingling spread across his body. Almost like something had settled inside him. Then he heard a voice, a soft whisper, "A beautiful soul, a heart so pure that others would almost instantly follow your lead, fairly young, and powerful. What a good vessel you will make..." He startled and looked wildly for the voice but found nothing around him. Firestar paused and tried to relax. He needed to get out of here quick. Something wasn't right about this place. But before he could start moving again, he felt an even more intense tingling where his heart was. His heart was beating erratically and his chest felt warm. 

Firestar put a forepaw over his heart and tried to calm down enough to get out of there. Why was he feeling this way? There wasn't anyone here with him, so what was this feeling of apprehension? His head shot up. His tail felt weird, almost pleasant. He did his best to turn his head around in time to watch as his tail started expanding and thickening around the base. It was getting bigger and almost wavy? The underside of his tail started to tint itself a dark gray, lines going up it. He stared in bemusement. What was happening to him? The pleasant feeling that gripped his tail started transferring to his hind legs, where he watched as part of his ginger fur on his paws and some fur on his legs turn a golden color. 

Were his paws turning into hoofs? He stared in horror as his hind paws melded together into pointed hooves, his bone and muscle structure changing and expanding gently. The gray lined underside from his tail spread and stopped at his underbelly. He almost started hyperventilating when a strange almost foreign calmness washed over him. He should be panicking right now, not being calm! What was happening to his body?!

He could only watch as his midsection expanded and a strange golden-like fence with green stones embedded into the intersections started materializing around him, before ultimately attaching itself to his midsection. Its touch against his fur sent sparks up his spine and couldn't help the small gasp that escaped his muzzle. 

He was dreaming wasn't he? He shut his eyes tight and tried to focus on breathing. Everything would be okay, he would get out of here, or, or wake up and find himself in his nest with Sandstorm lying by his side. He would be back with his clan, Brambleclaw asking him for advice about which cats to send on patrol, help Jayfeather prove his innocence, surround himself with the ones he loved so much. He would get out of here. He would-!

But, oh Starclan, it felt so good~!

His front paws followed his hind legs and melded together to form pointed hooves, the tips being a beautiful golden color. He was gasping in pleasure at this point; his body felt amazing and he could feel the beginnings of sheer power form inside him. He was almost ashamed of himself for wanting to feel more, but eagerly extended his neck when the transformation started to expand and stretch out his neck, ridges forming as his neck lengthened itself. His chest and upper half of his underbelly tinted itself gray, more vertical lines spreading across the area. He was so lost in the growing ecstasy that Firestar didn't notice he was getting bigger. The chamber he was standing in was large, more than enough to accommodate what he changing into. He was just as big and tall as Fourtrees even, possibly more! 

His ecstasy evolved into pure bliss when his head started changing. His head structure was changing entirely. His eyesight cut out, but could feel his ears flattening and lengthening into points, his muzzle being covered by some kind of mask, and his head fur lengthening behind his head. The underside of his head fur once again colored itself gray and vertical lines formed adjacent to his head. Some of the ginger fur on his forehead lightened to gold. He shivered in bliss, and closed his eyes as his body began to calm down. He opened his eyes to reveal blood-red irises surrounded by a light green color. 

With his vision returned, he looked himself over mournfully. This felt real. So incredibly real that this couldn't be just a dream. The changes had felt so good that it scared him by how much he actually enjoyed it. Especially the innate power he was feeling, growing deep inside him. Some panic returned; he couldn't go back to his clan like this... looking like some ginger-golden horse thing with a fence on him. This would only scare them; scare the clans. He jolted when the voice returned, even louder and clearer in his head, "Almost done~", it purred.

Firestar began to feel uneasy again when that bliss returned with full force, situated in his head. His eyes rolled up into his skull as memories and personalities merged and suddenly he was neither Firestar or Arceus, and yet was both at the same time. He blinked and tested out his new(old?) limbs. His Life Plates materialized around him and entered his body, blanketing him in a golden aura. 

He gave a sigh of contentment. The part of him that was Arceus was overjoyed to finally have the sensation of feeling back, to be out of that damned prison. He could go back home and see his children and creations again, get revenge on the humans that did this to him(if they were even still alive at this point, it had been years). But the part of him that was Firestar was saddened that he would have to leave his clan behind, knowing he couldn't return to them looking like this. There was more of Arceus than there was of Firestar, and Arceus would never stay behind in the universe that imprisoned him for a few cats that wouldn't live long compared to him anyway. He was a god now(hadn't he always been a god though?), too different from the Clans. 

He could at least make sure the Dark Forest didn't rise up though. Starclan couldn't stop him (he realized that Starclan couldn't really do anything; they were too weak and the most pull they had on the material world was to move clouds across the sky and give out prophecies and nine lives; unable to deal with the Dark Forest themselves- they were essentially powerless). They, he, was free to do as he pleased. The part of him that was Arceus won out easily. Arceus had lived even before the universe was even shaped. Creating universes was his job. Firestar hadn't even lived a fraction of that. He shook his head- he had no reason to not continue using Arceus' name. This was who he was. Arceus willed a portal to open and stepped into it, leaving the detestable underground chamber behind forever. He would pay good ol' Tigerstar a visit, screw his plans over(and that made the Firestar in him especially giddy) and then go home. The clans would be alright; they didn't need him anymore. Thinking back to all his mistakes and lost friendships, maybe he was never really wanted in the first place, he recalled mournfully. He would reassure his children and creations that he was alright, create more universes and watch over the cosmos. As it should be.


	2. The Cleansing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arceus pays the Place of No Stars a visit....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot bunny came and attacked me again and I decided to do more with this.

It amused him that flying seemed so new to him. In a way, it was, but he had been doing it for all his life, never giving it a second thought. Even so, there was a part of him now that was amazed at what he could do. But if that small part of him thought flying was amazing, just wait til he soared through the very cosmos. While he flew towards his destination, Arceus familiarized himself with his new(and old) memories. To be honest, both set of memories felt new to the other half, but there was more of Arceus than Firestar, so he considered himself Arceus with a small part of him being a whole new experience. Even so, the part of him that was Firestar was just so amazed at what he could now accomplish. A god in a literal sense, Starclan had nothing on him now. Isn't this what he had wanted? To see the world from another perspective? It was exhilarating.

The wormhole he was in finally gave way above a dark, decaying forest. Many of the trees, while decaying, were still towering over the place. Not to mention it was totally packed. The cats here couldn't even see the sky, let alone the stars(not that they could since there were no stars here; pity). The perfect place to put traitors and murderers. They didn't really deserve Starclan(especially Tigerstar, once again rifling through Firestar's memories- he was just as bad as some of humans back home; the ones part of all those criminal organizations). The dense forest would have been an issue and an obstacle to overcome for anyone trying to track down a specific cat here. Except he wasn't a cat. He stopped in midair and hovered there, extending his senses to see all the auras within the Dark Forest.

_There_ \- he could sense a large gathering of dark auras in little ways away from him. Probably where all the Dark Forest leaders and top warriors were meeting. Hope they didn't mind if he crashed the party. Unfortunately, the dense forest did pose a problem at this point. He was too big to simply descend and walk right up to them. He didn't fancy crashing through the area and ruining his entrance either. He was going to put the fear of him into these cats before killing them. Finally getting to feel his powers and destroying a bunch of fools who didn't know how to stay dead- what a perfect start to his rebirth. 

He reached into himself effortlessly and pooled the energy he needed into a Judgement. His ring pulsed with golden energy as the sphere above his head grew bigger. Finally he tossed it up into the atmosphere, where it split into multiple streams of light and rained down onto the Dark Forest. The resulting Judgement blew off a large portion of the Dark Forest into nothingness, exposing the musty and dense ground to the skies above for the first time in years. It didn't last as the ground was also blown away and became littered with craters. 

That's when he heard screaming as the Dark Forest cats heard the explosion, or were caught up in it themselves. He wasn't trying to kill anyone with the first strike; that was just to get rid of the dense foliage. He switched gears and fired other attacks every so often, almost leisurely, slowly stripping away the Dark Forest. He may have been enjoying himself a little too much. 

He heard yowls of panic and fear as the Dark Forest cats finally saw him hovering above them; looking like an ethereal unknown that was glaring down at them. Ah, there was the cat of the hour too. There was Tigerstar, looking up at him with anger and fury(and was that fear he also saw?). They locked eyes with each other, Arceus pooling another Judgement as he did so. If he still had a mouth, he would have smirked here. He made sure the Judgement wouldn't hit Tigerstar; he was saving him for last. This time, he was aiming to kill.

And what a slaughter it was. Some cats he recognized and more cats he didn't tried fleeing from his Judgement, but couldn't outrun the attack and ultimately ended up getting erased from existence. (He recognized Hawkfrost, Darkstripe, and Brokenstar among the fleeing cats. Good riddance.) Soon enough, all of the Dark Forest was a crater filled wasteland, the mist surrounding the place the only reason why Starclan didn't come to witness the cleansing themselves. He considered it a cleansing anyway, the Dark Forest was a blight on the material world and the afterlife. When you die, you stay dead or wander as a ghost. You didn't rise up and try bringing revolution to the living world. 

Tigerstar was the only one left. He had willed his Judgements to miss him every time, because he wanted Tigerstar to watch as everything he built up fell to pieces around him. He also willed Tigerstar to  _stay_ and be a good little dead cat and not try to escape. He floated down to ground level and landed onto the ground in front of Tigerstar, hooves making indents as he strode closer. His eyes were still locked onto his.

The fur along his spine rose up as Arceus came closer. There was so much fear-scent coming off him but tried to hide it under rage and fury as he spat at Arceus. It amused him so to see Tigerstar lose his composure and start foaming at the mouth. Especially since he was casting a shadow over him. What did this cat think he could do to him? “You... what have you done?” Tigerstar hissed. “ **What do you think** ?” Arceus replied coolly. “ **I only destroyed your little plans of revenge, nothing more** .” His eyes were glowing intensely. He saw Tigerstar try and step away from him, still trying to mask his terrified eyes. Then he asked the question of the century. “What even are you?!” he yowled at him. 

He made his eyes stop glowing. He laughed lightly, which angered Tigerstar to no end. Arceus narrowed his eyes. “ **Who am I** ?”, he mused.

He willed his voice and eyes to shift; his eyes a forest green color and his voice....

“Well, you wouldn't recognize me like this would you Tigerstar?”

Tigerstar's face was alight with realization and horror. He knew that voice. His eyes hardened, but Arceus could still see the fear in them. “What did you do to yourself kittypet?”, he hissed. Arceus' eyes shone in mirth. The part of him that was Firestar was absolutely relishing this. 

“I've only ascended into something you could never comprehend.” 

His eyes and voice shifted back and he pooled up more energy and aura for one last Judgement. Tigerstar didn't last long. Both parts of him enjoyed Tigerstar's last screams of fury and denial, the kittypet he wanted dead since their first meeting getting the last laugh in the end. 

The part of him that was Firestar was appeased. The Dark Forest was gone, never to see any kind of light again. They couldn't hurt the clans now. They couldn't hurt him or his kin any longer. He scanned the desolate wasteland, pleased with himself. Then he turned his head in the direction of Starclan. He needed to claim the remaining pieces of Firestar's soul there. The lives he lost. He flew off, one last piece of business he needed to finish before he left this dimension behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might keep adding onto this if I feel like it. Thank you to everyone whose reading this, I'm glad there are people who were interested enough to give this a click!


	3. Divine Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starclan encounters a god...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say that I would update this when I felt like it. I'm thankful to the 50 some people who have read this- even though I don't know why you are. I wrote this for myself to be honest... 
> 
> But someone reviewed this on Fanfiction and it made me so happy that I decided to push out another chapter. You're welcome.

How could this have happened? How did everything go so right and so wrong at the same time?

All of Starclan had been whipped into a frenzy when Firestar's life-force had blinked out of existence. They could sense him, they could sense all the leaders, their remaining lives, and the lives they had lost. One moment he was there, and the next he was gone. Every cat was at a viewing pool and combing through the territories in order to find him.

Then came the shockwaves. Starclan's territory was shaking. _Why was it shaking?!_ Then some cats hurried over to them, begging them to come see what had happened to the Dark Forest. Bluestar frowned. What was Tigerstar and the Dark Forest cats doing this time?

So they all entered the mist that separated Starclan and the Place of no Stars and entered the Dark Forest. She and the rest of Starclan stared in horror and confusion at the distinct _lack_ of Dark Forest. There was nothing here. Only a crater filled wasteland (where did the craters even come from, she wondered) and a distinct lack of life.

They had all scoured the land in hopes of finding something, _anything_ that would have clued them in on what had done this much damage under their noses. Bluestar noticed that there weren't any bodies either. As if all the Dark Forest had upped and disappeared.

Then she caught a scent. Two scents to be exact. One she knew very well- she curled her lip in disgust at scenting her traitorous former deputy Tigerstar's scent. He wasn't one she wanted to reflect on. But his scent stopped a few fox-lengths away and just-- _stopped_. His scent was riddled with fear. It was like he tried running away from something and was then wiped out of existence. She couldn't help the dark thoughts that told her that he deserved what came to him.

The other scent baffled her. _'What is that?'_ It was nothing she had scented before. She couldn't describe it, but there was something about the new scent that felt familiar to her somehow, but she couldn't place a paw on it.

Whitestorm, Yellowfang, Lionheart, and Spottedleaf padded over to her. She turned to them. “What do you make of this?” They all recoiled. “Well, one scent I couldn't begin to possibly care less for,” Yellowfang grumbled, and they all agreed with her, “But I have no idea what _this_ is.” Lionheart padded a few tail lengths over and sniffed what looked indents on the ground. The weird scent was also coming from them.

“Are- are these hooves?” Whitestorm uttered. “How do you figure that?” Yellowfang asked sarcastically. “Well it's _something_ ,” he muttered crossly. Bluestar stared at the indents. If these were hooves... the fur on her spine rose. Whatever attacked the Dark Forest, it was _big_.

Spottedleaf spoke up, “What about the prophecy?” she fretted. The others suddenly stiffened. What about the prophecy? What was the point in giving the Three their powers and trying to guide them if they couldn't use them for their intended use?

“Well had I known this was going to happen, I would have left Jayfeather to flail on his own.” They all gave a dry look at Yellowfang, who looked unabashed by the looks given to her. “What? He's a mouse-brain and I can't believe that I have to be the one to smack all the sense into his skull even when he doesn't listen!”

Just then, all the Starclan cats flinched. Bluestar's heart leaped at her chest when she recognized the feeling that transferred through all the Starclan cats at once. One of Firestar's lives just went out. They couldn't sense it anymore. ' _What...?'_ Many of them started yowling in panic when a second life went out. Bluestar and her group, along with many others stormed out of the wasteland the Dark Forest once occupied. She was intent on finding who or what was making _her apprentice, her deputy, her successor, and her surrogate son's_ _ **life go out.**_ Firestar had gone through enough in his life, why couldn't everyone just leave him alone?

A third went out.

Then a fourth. They were hurrying to the closest life near them.

A fifth.

Sixth.

Seventh.

_'There's only one life left?!'_ They couldn't sense Firestar's remaining one life he had in the living world and they couldn't sense seven of the eight lives that were supposed to be roaming aimlessly in Starclan. _What was doing this?_

They reached his last life remaining, which was standing in front of- she recoiled back(and so did the other cats)- _what is that?!_ She must have yowled it out too, because the _creature_ glanced at her with surprised red-irises.

* * *

Arceus watched as pretty much of all Starclan hurry towards the direction of where the Dark Forest was like there was a herd of Tauros at their tails. Good, he preferred that they be gone so he could collect his lives easier.

He found the first one walking aimlessly, a glazed look in its eyes. It stopped and looked up as he approached, recognizing him as the original. His soul resonated. He closed his eyes and sighed happily as the life disintegrated into yellow orbs of light that found their way into his ring. Oh yes, that felt wonderful. It was a marvelous feeling, not knowing you lost something until you found it again. He sent out a signal and felt seven other pieces of his soul resonate.

So he absorbed them all, getting more and more complete with each one.

He was in front of the eighth and final piece when he heard footsteps rumble behind him and- “What is that?!” He glanced behind him to see Bluestar and other cats he knew in life, surprise in his eyes. How had they found him so quickly? Perhaps he had spent too much time trying to find his pieces that he didn't realize they were done investigating the remains of the Dark Forest.

The part of him that was Firestar burned, agitated. He felt ashamed to be standing in front of his former clanmates like this. He wanted them to remember him as the leader he was, not the god he had become. The part of him that was Arceus soothed his other half and gently pushed him down. He ignored the cats behind him, focusing on the life in front of him instead.

The cats behind him gasped in shock, horror, and dismay when it became small orbs of light that traveled into his ring. He gave a sigh of contentment and relief. “ **Finally whole...** ” he whispered. The part of him that was Firestar grew a little bigger, more complete and relevant.

He finally turned to the cats beneath him, shock and horror and anger in their eyes. There was also a healthy amount of fear too, which was why Firestar had agreed to leave them. He knew they would fear him like this and he knew that he would be scared standing in front of them. He tried pushing down Firestar again when he roared to life, refusing to back down. He was a god now, he could handle a little ridicule from these cats; he had dealt with it all his life.

Bluestar curled her lip at him in a snarl, “How dare you?! How dare you take something that was never yours to begin with?! What has Firestar ever done to you that you had to take him away from us?!”

He chuckled, amused. “ **Not mine? They were as much mine as the fur on your pelt is yours. I only took the things needed to complete me.** ” She spat at him(so did the other cats as they hissed at him in disgust and fury), “Complete you? Did you need all of Firestar to _complete you_?”

He gave a hum. “ **He was pure-hearted. I needed a pure-hearted body to take over so I could get out of that infernal prison.** ” He gazed at Bluestar and looked her straight in the eyes. “ **He was** _**perfect** _ **. And now I'm more powerful than I ever was.** ”

“You- you took his _body?!_ ” Yellowfang shrieked. The cats yowled and spit and hissed at him. “Firestar if you're still in there, we'll find a way to free you from this- _this monster,_ ” Bluestar declared. His eyes narrowed. There was some rising fear from Arceus and Firestar that bled into each other that Starclan had the power to undo the merge. _No._ He was a god- they couldn't do anything to him, he reasoned.

“ **You're going to separate me...from myself?** ” he inquired. The cats were taken aback. He would have smiled if he could. He gave a humming laugh. **“He's still here;** _ **I'm**_ **still here** ,” he breathed cryptically. He was almost gleeful when realization dawned on Spottedleaf's face. “You, you _are_ Firestar, aren't you?” she asked shakily. The Starclan cats grew quiet at her words.

“ **...I admit, there is a part of me that is embarrassed to be standing before you like this, but I'm still here. I'm still** _ **me**_ **.”**

He scanned the faces before him, most of them were disgusted and fearful, but the cats he knew in life were mostly horrified and dismayed. He continued, “ **I've become something amazing. You see...** ” He willed his voice to change and watched as their faces became even more horrified if possible, “We've reached a beautiful compromise. Mind, **body, a** _nd_ **so** _ul_ **. We've merged into** _one being now_ **.”** His voice became overlaid, Firestar's and Arceus' voices speaking at the same time.

“No..no we'll save you! We'll find a way!” Bluestar's voice echoed in desperation.

“... _Who said I wanted_ **to be saved**?” At this point, most of Arceus had bled into Firestar, and now neither one wanted to return to what they once were. Arceus didn't want to be a shapeless spirit and Firestar was so ingrained into Arceus that he was enjoying what he now was. This is who he was now.

But the Starclan cats were horrified at Firestar's unwillingness to be saved.

“ **We're a** _single being now_ **remember? Half of me doesn't want to be without a physical form and the half of me that is Firestar has** _already rooted itself to my_ **subconsciousness.** _Arceus' thoughts and beliefs_ **are now his thoughts and beliefs.** _This is who I am now_ **. It's not like you have the power to do anything to me anyway** ,” his eyes lit up at that statement, terrifying the cats in front of him. They could sense and feel his rising power, and they realized to their horror that all of Starclan combined didn't make up a fraction of it.

“ _Tigerstar saw what_ **I'm capable of up close and personal.** ”

“ _You_ were the one to destroy the Dark Forest?” Bluestar whispered. He nodded, “ **Call it a parting gift. It is only because Firestar is apart of me** _that I didn't just leave you_ **all to battle him yourselves.** ” But he still sensed some doubt and denial from many of the cats, mostly older ones that had probably lived long before Firestar or Bluestar were born.

“ _Perhaps a_ **demonstration is in order**.”

They all gasped with various emotions: awe, fear, terror, and some others when he willed _a star_ the size of a small tree into existence. Then he collapsed the star in on itself, creating a black hole that tried sucking everything up where it stood. Cats cried out in terror and fear when they started being sucked in. He willed the black hole to fill up with matter and become something else, and a newly bloomed Gracidea floated gently to the ground.

He used his powers to lift the Gracidea and fit it on Bluestar's ear. “ _Thank you_ **Bluestar. If it wasn't for you or the** _others I wouldn't be who I_ **am today. My components** _would still be locked_ **in different prisons, never knowing** _how freedom feels_ ,” he said sincerely. She and the rest of Starclan looked defeated, looking up at him with a dazed look in her eyes.

“ **But I** _don't want you all_ **to remember me like this. I don't** _care if you remember_ **me as a leader or as** _a kittypet_ **\- I just don't want** _your last memories_ **of me being a god.** ” They looked up him, startled, and he reached out into their minds and erased the last few minutes of their encounter. He quickly galloped up into the sky and willed a portal to appear in front of him. His thoughts wondered back to the cats of Thunderclan and wondered if he should give some sign of assurance, that he was alright and that they would be fine. He gave a drawn out sigh. He could watch over them for a little bit- he had waited this long and it's not like his creations and children were expecting him or anything.

Bluestar and the other cats blinked and muttered to each other, wondering what they were standing around for. She looked around wildly, remembering that they were supposed to be looking for whatever had made Firestar's lives disappear. But she couldn't sense any of them.

“Bluestar, what is that on your ear?” She turned to Spottedleaf looking confused; she didn't have anything on her ear. She twitched her ear and felt something _was_ there. She raised her forepaw and grabbed the object. ' _A flower?_ '

A familiar sounding voice echoed in her head, asking her to do something, but she couldn't remember what the request was or who the voice belonged to. All she knew what that it made her heart heavy with grief.

She turned to the others, “Come on, we need to either find Firestar or contact Jayfeather and...” she trailed off. She didn't want to believe Firestar was dead but... Thunderclan needed a leader. “...and tell him that Brambleclaw needs to receive his nine lives.”

As the other cats padded off, distant and looking defeated(and she swore she saw Yellowfang and Spottedleaf try and fail to hold back tears), she looked down at the flower at her paws. The voice once again echoed through her head.

She didn't know why, but she took the flower with her as she left the area with a heavy heart. At least the Dark Forest wasn't a problem anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rewrite this a bunch of times, and I'm still not sure how to feel about it. 
> 
> If I absolutely have to, I'll just rewrite it again :P
> 
> Starclan doesn't remember their encounter- so they're back to wondering why they can't sense Firestar anymore. 
> 
> Also Gracidea flowers are from Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, which represent gratitude.


	4. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Firestar reflects on everything...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heressss another update! Still kinda confused why people are reading this. But I thank the people who are actually getting into this! :)
> 
> Also I feel like this ones kinda short. But honestly, I can't keep expecting myself to churn out big chapters- I've piled too of high standards onto myself oops :P

Arceus settled down on a nebula cloud somewhere far from where the humans could detect him with their technology and relaxed. He didn't usually sleep, but the past events took a lot out of him. Having to change this body to suit his needs, immediately using his power to destroy the Dark Forest and reclaiming his lives in front of Starclan. He should have left and taken it easy, instead of straining his new body and forcing his power through it.

It was like a human doing a thousand push-ups and sit ups when they never did so before, straining all their muscles. It wouldn't take long for him to get used to it, but still...

He opened up a one-way portal that he could view into. Currently, Thunderclan was troubled, wondering where their leader was. It wasn't the right time to go to them and show himself. He wasn't planning on physically showing himself to the clans- rather he was going to enter their dreams and do it there. No use in wiping Starclan's memory of him if they could watch everything go down in the clans and see him with them all. He closed the portal and laid his head down on the nebula. It would be a while yet before showing himself to them. He just needed to refresh himself...

As his body slept and recovered, his mind split itself since their merging. Deep within the farthest reaches of Arceus' subconscious, a very human Firestar sat on his knees, gazing out into the cosmos that made up their combined mindscape. He wasn't bothered by his spiky bangs almost hanging in front of his eyes, or the pure white cloak that sat on his shoulders that covered his body that should have irritated him for just being on him(or wearing clothes in general), or the fact that he was even human.

For all their habits and actions, humans still had their uses, and their bodies were very interesting. The legendary pokémon would take human form from time to time, walking amongst the humans and learning how they lived.

He found it strange that the information was just _there_ without him trying to consciously find it- all of Arceus' memories, experiences, and knowledge had become his in turn and vice versa. Currently, Firestar was filing through his new memories and emotions. 

He realized quickly and regretfully that he felt nothing when he thought of Sandstorm. Where there should have been love, or warmth, or even a fondness for her, there was nothing. Arceus' feelings had taken over him and he realized that there was no need for a mate. Especially one whose life was but a blink of an eye to him.

Curiously enough, the love he had for Brambleclaw skyrocketed. His apprentice wouldn't live for much longer in comparison to himself, but he still loved Brambleclaw like he was his own son. It might have had something to do with Arceus' memories and emotions coursing through him, because he felt love blossom inside of him for Arceus' creation and children- _his_ creations and children.

He tried seeing how Arceus felt about Squirrelflight and Leafpool, and to his surprise, he didn't feel any different about them. He still loved them-they were his kits, but due to past events... he was just  _so_ disappointed in Leafpool and Squirrelflight for all the secrets they kept from him. Squirrelflight failed to inform Brambleclaw that the kits weren't hers; he would have loved them regardless of parentage. But she was trying to help her sister and he couldn't hold it against her. But being helpful didn't help the fact that she essentially fractured her relationships, especially her relationship with Brambleclaw.

As for Leafpool, she had failed to inform him that she was having kits in the first place. Not only that, but she failed to defend Squirrelflight when she took all the blame onto herself. What was he going to do to her, exile his daughter and only medicine cat at the time? He was used to medicine cats having kits and seeing inter-clan relationships. Foolish, the code really needed to be changed in that regard. 

But the fact that his own kits didn't trust  _him_ enough hurt. Arceus' children trusted him enough to come forth with their problems, and he had always been happy to help them. 

Firestar was still gazing out when he was half aware of footsteps coming up behind him. The figure stopped, dropped to their knees and gently wrapped their arms around Firestar's torso, their head nuzzling into his hair. He gave a content sigh of relief and melted into Arceus' embrace, their tails waving joyfully and the rings hovering behind their backs pulsing happily. He felt his mind and soul resonate with the being embracing him.

He was only half a soul now. When Arceus had merged their souls together, he as Firestar had become half of who he was. Sure, having all his lives back inside of him helped, but he was still only a part of something bigger. Their mind only split into the two of them when they slept, and when they were split like this, he needed to be close to Arceus in order to feel whole again. When their body awoke, they would be back to being one, all their movements and actions and thoughts perfectly synced, their minds and souls together again.

It was strange seeing Arceus be so...affectionate. But he was also half a soul-- even with his piece being bigger than Firestars'-- being near Firestar having doused his discomfort from being separate.

He wasn't sure if he liked being split from Arceus; he could be himself here, in this private world for two(as much as he _can_ be himself-he wasn't a cat here). But at the same time, he wasn't whole, and he wanted to feel that completeness that could only be achieved by being one. 

Sleep was rare for them anyway. There was going to be times when he would slumber for who knows how long- maybe a couple hundred years, maybe a few thousand, even millions of years. But once they awoke, he would stay awake for the foreseeable future. It would be a while before he would just be Firestar again.

“What are you thinking about, _my other half_?” Arceus whispered into his ear. Firestar shivered at his voice and touch and shyly smiled, “I think you know already.” Arceus gave a hum and said nothing more. Though split, they could still hear each other's thoughts, dive into the others' mind. There was nothing to hide here. 

He smiled down at the ethereal chain that wrapped around his gloved hand and wrist, linking him to the ground of their shared mindscape and another connected to it that wrapped around Arceus' wrist. He could still move around freely and the chain would extend if he wanted, but he was stuck here, merged with a god who had no intentions of letting him go. He was rooted into their mind.

He strangely enjoyed it. Especially when Arceus would send over feelings of happiness and he couldn't help but melt into them. He could still feel their shared power, just waiting to be released. Their powers of creation was building up, and he was excited for the time when they would release it all and create a universe, watch their creations grow, live,  _evolve_ .

He should be angry at Arceus, for taking him away from his clan, but all of Arceus' desperation and longing had flooded into him. His understanding nature couldn't help but take over, and he let his anger go. Thunderclan would do fine without him. He wasn't going to last much longer had the Dark Forest be allowed to rise up- Tigerstar would had have them all gunning for him anyway. 

They both continued to gaze out in comfortable silence while their body regained its strength and recovered from the day's ordeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that there may be...subcontext in this. Firestar and Arceus aren't into each other like that. Think of it like a partnership akin to Yugi and Atem from Yugioh… annnddd now I realize that people ship them together anyway. 
> 
> Just don't read too much into it. Sharing the same body, mind, and soul means they kinda have to get along. Soon enough, they'll be one again.


	5. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arceus begins to come back into his powers and Brambleclaw is lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in the mood to update this. Coincidentally, the day I decide to write something is the day I get a review for it over on Fanfiction. TOO BAD I CANT SEE IT CAUSE FANFICTIONS COMMENTS BIZZ IS DRUNK AGAIN.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Arceus slowly woke up, his mind and components melding back together. His two halves fit so well together that the melding was seamless. He did wake up disoriented though, his mind once again processing new memories and feelings from when Arceus and Firestar temporarily split in his head. The merging wasn't as complete as he thought it was. When awake, they became almost an entirely new being, but when asleep...

Such an unfortunate weakness. This wasn't something that he wanted getting out- if anyone knew that his mind(and his soul-somewhat) split while he was asleep.... He would need to set up safeguards when he did slumber from this point on. The half of him that was Firestar was still vulnerable, not yet used to its new form.

Firestar could easily be overwhelmed by any mental attack when split. How frustrating. He wasn't even safe when asleep.

He got up and stretched out his limbs, stamping a hoof down onto the nebula and opening up another viewing portal. Time to see how Thunderclan was faring. They were currently in disarray, wondering what to say and do about their missing leader. They as a whole didn't interest him. He looked around until he found someone he was interested in.

He focused in on Brambleclaw, who was trying to put on brave face and be a leader they needed, but looked completely lost and was wiping away tears with his paws when he thought no one was looking. Curious. Did Brambleclaw really feel so strongly for him?

He felt guilt rise up, most likely coming from Firestar. His poor deputy... he left him leadership of a clan during turbulent times. He would have preferred to have handed over the leader title when the clans weren't preparing to rip each other to shreds. Hopefully Starclan would get over their “each clan must stand alone” phase and inform the medicine cats(or at least Jayfeather) that the Dark Forest wasn't a problem anymore.

(He checked in on his daughters, Sandstorm and some other cats he semi-cared about. He found it strange that Brambleclaw was more distraught over his disappearance than the others. Sandstorm was pretty devastated and clinging onto hope that he was still alive. Part of him wished that he still cared about her but the sad fact was that he didn't.)

His ring pulsed and his aura flared to life. Ah, all his energy finally culminated to the point where it could be released. He scanned the area, seeing a spot in the far distance that was void of anything there. Perfect. He focused all his energy in front of him, seeing it all swirl together and make something new. He felt growing excitement coming from the part of him that was Firestar- he was actually making a new galaxy! He wondered how he would feel when he created an entire universe.

Unfortunately, these things took a while. The galaxy wouldn't take too long to make; universes took longer.

It would all be worth it though. New beings would still be able to grow and evolve and adapt. He focused on the mess of stars, beginning to shape it into the form he wanted. He was excited to see what potential lifeforms would come out of this one.

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* * *

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Brambleclaw looked down blankly into the giant hole. Firestar had informed some cats that he was going on a walk and never returned. So they did the natural thing and sent out a tracking patrol. His scent had led here, to a giant hole in the ground that hadn't been there before. Most of the cats knew Thunderclan territory like the backs of their own paws now. This thing hadn't been there the day before.

But the worst thing about finding the hole was the knowledge that Firestar's scent led to it. It led to the hole and just... disappeared. The only thing Brambleclaw could come up with is that Firestar must have been directly on a weak spot and fell in as the ground collapsed. It's not like he would suddenly jump into a random hole in the ground. They held hope that he was alive... until they realized how deep the thing was.

Cloudtail had kicked a pebble into it. They didn't hear it hit the bottom.

Hollyleaf, being familiar with the tunnels, volunteered to go down and find Firestar. Half of the clan had opposed, doubting her ability to climb straight down and feared for her safety. He feared for her too, this was the cat he once thought of as a daughter; he still cared. But she had been insistent, and so the clan allowed her to trek down in hopes of finding Firestar. He secretly dreaded what she would find. Would she find his dead body? He was hopeful that they would both emerge safe.

All his hopes shattered when Hollyleaf shakily clawed her way out of the hole, shivering and panting “It's too deep!” There was no way Firestar could have survived such a fall. But he held out and for the past few days, waited by the hole in hopes of Firestar miraculously climbing out. Maybe jokingly tell him what a long climb it was.

The clan had put a sort of barrier around the hole, made of branches and sticks. It was too deep to fill in or collapse. This would ensure that no one would accidentally fall into it. But the clan was still wary of the area, afraid of more weak spots.

He had no choice but to step up and take Firestar's place, trying to assure the clan that they would be alright. Nothing was alright, the thought blankly. Jayfeather was being accused of murder, not allowed at gatherings or at the half-moon meetings for medicine cats. Unless he felt particularly rebellious, Starclan would have to come to Jayfeather in his dreams. The clans were at the verge of war with each other, and there were strange scents all over the lake territories that he knew didn't belong to anyone alive.

He remembered his father's scent. Tigerstar was hard to forget. He remembered training in the Dark Forest with Hawkfrost, being taught by Tigerstar himself. He _knew_ the Dark Forest was rising up. The clans were divided and now the Dark Forest had easy pickings. 

And worst of all, Firestar was gone. The only cat who was brave enough to face up to Tigerstar was gone, possibly dead.

He couldn't help the silent tears that ran down his face. He was stressed out, handling deputy and leader duties together. He refused to get nine lives until there was proof that Firestar was good and dead.

He gave a sniffle. He wanted him back. Firestar was all he had. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Hollyleaf weren't actually his kits and they avoided him now that they knew he wasn't their father. He too felt awkward around them. Squirrelflight, his former mate, had lied to him, claiming kits that weren't hers. She didn't even let him in on the secret. He couldn't have cared less if the kits were her sister's. Her not telling him, even though they had promised that there wouldn't be anymore secrets hidden from each other, hurt. He thought they had been over the whole secrets thing. 

He was so detached from the clan that his friends didn't really feel like friends. He was always busy being deputy. Firestar had been his rock, comforting him after the whole Gathering fiasco where Hollyleaf had revealed her parentage. He was always there for him, even when he had been fearful that Brambleclaw would end up like his father, Firestar was still  _there_ . 

He didn't want to be leader. What was the point in doing so anymore?

Now Firestar was gone, and for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got stuff planned for Brambleclaw. Kinda. Maybe.
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	6. Mysterious Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayfeather digs into a mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Fourth of July! I had a massive migraine yesterday and didn't feel like updating H20:Just add cats- mainly because I wasn't sure how I wanted the next chapter to go so I updated this instead. All of this after my migraine went away of course. Those suck.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

For the past nights since Firestar's disappearance, Thunderclan was in absolute turmoil. Cats were trying to figure out how he disappeared, crazy theories popping up left and right. Jayfeather was getting sick of the theories. He had a bigger problem to worry about.

Too late, he had figured out that Firestar was the fourth. Who else could it have been? Lionblaze had thought it was Hollyleaf, but they both thought that she was part of the Three but hadn't shown any signs of powers developing. She insisted she wasn't the fourth. Dovewing thought it to be Ivypool, but in Jayfeather's opinion, she was biased towards her sister. (He might have realized that he and Lionblaze were also biased towards their sister as well.) Jayfeather himself thought it was Flametail due to Mothwing showing him the burning cattail in the rain.

In hindsight, thinking the fourth was Flametail was pretty mouse-brained of him. Flametail was dead- how was he going to help from Starclan?

Of course it was Firestar. The burning cattail was fire, always fire, always burning bright. Firestar and Tigerstar were fated to battle- but Firestar had never had his fated battle before Tigerstar was killed by Scourge. It was clear that the Dark Forest would rise up and Firestar and Tigerstar would have their little battle to the death then.

Except Firestar was gone, possibly dead now. He hissed to himself in frustration- they were going to be easily destroyed by the Dark Forest now!

Dovewing stuck her head inside the medicine den, “Jayfeather, Ivypool wants to see us- says its really important.”

“Right now?” he growled irritably. “Yes now.” With that, she turned around and left, not wanting to feel Jayfeather's barbed tongue.

He met up with Dovewing, Ivypool, and Lionblaze outside of camp. “What is this about, Ivypool? I have to prepare the herb store for when the Dark Forest feels like it's a good time to attack us,” he growled at her.

She glared at him, “That's the thing, they haven't appeared in my dreams for a few nights now. I haven't been called to train for anything lately.”

Lionblaze's ear twitched, “So you called a meeting to tell us that the Dark Forest is taking a break?” he said uncaringly. “Why are you complaining, at least you haven't woken up injured and bloodied these past few nights!” Dovewing meowed. Of course she would be concerned for her sister- she had to wake up everyday seeing her body bloodied and beaten from the Dark Forest's training sessions.

Treating the trainees were annoying. Ivypool and the others were taken to him so many times for random injuries they sustained overnight that he knew exactly who was training in the Dark Forest. It didn't help that they always tried the “it must have been a thorn in my bedding” excuse. But Jayfeather could recognize that something was wrong- the Dark Forest weren't ones to take breaks.

“They aren't taking a break! They don't like it when we don't train. They don't even like it when we're late due to gatherings- they just make us train harder,” Ivypool said worryingly. Jayfeather knew she was right. He had seen enough of the Dark Forest to know that the higher-ups were brutal.

“They haven't called you at all these past few nights?” Jayfeather asked. She nodded, “I even went around and asked some of the other trainees if they still appeared there when they dreamed, just to see if the Dark Forest was keeping me out of the loop. They haven't been called either.”

“How long has this gone on for?” She hesitated, trying to think. Her face lit up in realization, “For as long as Firestar's been gone.” Lionblaze and Dovewing stiffened, Firestar's disappearance still being a sore subject for them. Firestar knew about the prophecy and was their biggest supporter. This was Lionblaze's and Jayfeather's grandfather. They loved him even if they didn't show it much.

Jayfeather frowned. Firestar disappearing was one thing, the Dark Forest suddenly not training their living warriors was another. But both happening at the same time? This was suspicious. Lionblaze noticed Jayfeather's calculating expression and nudged his brother, “Are you going to pay Starclan a visit?”

Jayfeather nodded, “Maybe Starclan will know what's going on...” He kind of doubted that though, last time he visited them, Starclan didn't even know the extent the Dark Forest was preparing themselves. Not to mention they were still divided. He sighed, why did everything have to be so complicated with Starclan?

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* * *

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That night, he settled down in his nest after making sure Briarlight was healthy. He still wasn't allowed to go to the Moonpool- but that never stopped him from using his powers to visit them directly. He shut his eyes and expected to open them to see the starry-filled terrian of Starclan- or the dark murky Place of No Stars.

He never expected to open his eyes to a crater filled wasteland. He stumbled back in shock; where was he?! This wasn't Starclan or the Dark Forest! His nostrils flared as he tried to take in the scents of the area and was shocked to catch faint scents of the Dark Forest. He scanned the area, seeing nothing. Was this why Ivypool hadn't been called lately? Because the Dark Forest had apparently been destroyed?

“What happened here?” he whispered in shock.

“We don't know.” He spun around to see Bluestar behind him, eyes and face blank. She padded forward and sat next to him, eyes still looking out into nothing.

“What do you mean you don't know?”

She turned her head to give him a disproving look, “Jayfeather, Starclan isn't as powerful as you think. We have no idea what could have done this. We were preoccupied with other matters when this occurred. You know, like help searching for Firestar?”

Jayfeather gaped at her, “But- but if something destroyed the Dark Forest, then what was the whole prophecy for then?!” The Three had been given their powers to help stop the Dark Forest, to save the clans. What was the point of their powers- what was the point of telling them to find a fourth even?- if something else came and did the job for them? If he knew this would happen, he wouldn't have spent half his time worrying about the Dark Forest!

He craned his head up when he noticed something attached to her ear. “What's that on your ear?” Her forepaw rose and touched the object. A flower? Her eyes glazed over, like she was trying to remember something.

“Since when do you wear flowers on your ear?”

“I don't know,” her voice was meek and it baffled Jayfeather that the past Thunderclan leader sounded so lost. She didn't know when she started wearing flowers?

Bluestar gave a sigh, “You being here saved us the trouble of coming to you ourselves though.” She struggled with herself for a moment, “We need you to tell Brambleclaw that he needs to receive his nine lives.”

The sentence was like a smack to the face. His features twisted in fury, “What about Firestar?! He might be alive and you're giving up on him?!”

“We can't sense him.” Another smack to the face. “Even if he's still alive, we can't sense him for some reason.”

“And that gives you the right to give up?”

“His other lives have disappeared too.” He frowned, what was going on? Firestar _and his lives_ disappear the same time the Dark Forest was destroyed?

Bluestar gave a frustrated sigh, “We don't know where Firestar has gone, his lives are gone, we don't know what destroyed the Dark Forest and the only thing we have to go by is the strange scent and the indents in the ground we found, and _I don't know whose voice this belong to!_ ” she was eventually screaming at the end of her rant, and Jayfeather gave a few small steps backwards, suddenly afraid of Bluestar.

She ripped the flower off her ear and stared at it intently. “Every time I look at it, someone is asking me to do _something_ and I can't remember what it was or who is asking! It's maddening! Every time I want to destroy or get rid of it, I feel guilty! _I don't know why!_ ” She gave a anguished wail. Jayfeather was unsure of what to say- he was never good at giving comfort, only brutal honesty. Not only that, but he was trying to think about what she said. Something about strange scents and indent marks? The mystery kept getting deeper.

“Where is this strange scent?” She flicked her tail and without a word, led him to a spot a few fox-lengths away. There were large indents on the ground- he couldn't recall how big horses were but these marks had to be bigger. He didn't know anything that could be this big. He lowered his head to sniff at the ground, drinking in the faint scents. He could smell Tigerstar but the other scent... A thoughtful expression graced his face. The foreign scent had underlying tones of something familiar but he couldn't put his paw on it.

Bluestar and Jayfeather suddenly flinched, and Bluestar titled her head up to the sky worryingly. Jayfeather looked around wildly, trying to figure out what that feeling was. He turned to Bluestar questioningly. “What was that?” She didn't answer for a few heartbeats, but then locked eyes with him and told him something that froze him to his very core:

“An uncountable number of stars were just created. And it wasn't Starclan's doing.”

What could make that many stars? And how? He thought all the stars in the sky were Starclan warriors! Did a whole bunch of cats just die?

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It was finally completed! He peered down at the new little cluster of stars happily. It had taken a bit to create this one but he was ready to finally see what potential it had. Arceus aimed the sphere towards the empty spot and propelled it forward at something faster than light-speed. At first there was nothing.

Then there was a big flash of light and a shockwave and the galaxy he made suddenly enlarged, stars swirling into a spiral, new planets and other objects beginning to form. He gazed at it as everything came together. There was a warmth coming from his heart and mind, Arceus being happy at just being able to do his job after so many years and Firestar was ecstatic at what he just did. His two component's joy threw him off balance somewhat but he didn't mind.

He galloped towards the new galaxy, appearing at its edge in an instant. He found a new solar system trying to form at the edge, and decided that it would be a good place to plant the seeds of life. He spotted a rocky, magma filled planet that reminded him of how Earth started out before he created Groudon, Kyorge, and Rayquaza to get it under control.

  
He suddenly stopped and opened up a viewing portal, feeling something was amiss. He saw Jayfeather, looking confused and worried, but trying to piece things together. Well, he didn't give the blind medicine cat enough credit; he was already suspicious of the timing of it all. Firestar disappearing and the Dark Forest being destroyed in the same day would look odd to anyone and he wondered why no one in Starclan figured it out sooner.

He wiped their memories of encountering him, not everything else. He rolled his eyes, Bluestar kept the Gracidea he left her and questioned the remnant of the memory left behind but didn't question where it came from?

He was beginning to think he wiped more than just some memories...

He watched as Jayfeather padded over to a distressed Brambleclaw- oh, he knew what Jayfeather was about to tell him. So Starclan finally declared him dead did they? Brambleclaw needed his nine lives now. He felt pride for his apprentice- he's come such a long way! But he also felt sadness and guilt rise up at Brambleclaw's broken expression. Firestar's feelings flooded into Arceus, and he couldn't help but also feel bad. He loved his children and he couldn't help but think that Brambleclaw was quickly becoming part of the list.

He hated leaving his children behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not like Jayfeather is actually going to solve anything though- even he doesn't know everything. 
> 
> Arceus is very interested in Brambleclaw and only him. He cares for the rest of the clan(Firestar's influence) but only as much as Arceus cares for Pokémon as a whole. He loves his children more.
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	7. Witnessing something new

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brambleclaw receives nine lives, and witnesses something else...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ._. I was in the mood again. I got so carried away with this chapter that I made it longer than the others. 2000+ words might not seem a lot for some people, but it felt like a lot to me.
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comment means a lot to me!

Brambleclaw was tired. He was shuffling leader and deputy duties everyday with no free time for himself. Cats were urging him to appoint someone to at least help out, but he refused. The clan was getting irritated at him. They knew he was waiting for a sign, something to tell him that Firestar was dead. It was the exact same thing Firestar had done when Graystripe had been taken by Twolegs. He had refused to appoint a new deputy, believing that Graystripe was alive and would return to them.

To be fair, Graystripe did eventually return to Thunderclan, but by then Firestar had been convinced to pick someone else as deputy. Brambleclaw remembered being one of the cats annoyed with Firestar- he had been vying for the deputy position back then, not out of genuinely wanting the best for the clan, but trying to follow Tigerstar's commands and advice. Now here he was, hoping that Firestar would turn up somehow. Every night, he begged Starclan for answers, begged Firestar to return to them.

He could see the irony in the situation.

He sorted out the morning patrols, cats giving him wayward looks as they exited camp. He knew he should take it easy and relax, but there was work to be done. Is this what being a leader felt like? He didn't know how Firestar did it all the time. He made it look so easy.

Brambleclaw was broken out of his musings when Jayfeather silently walked over to him with a grim look. “Brambleclaw, we need to talk- it's important.”

“About what exactly?” he questioned tiredly.

Jayfeather lashed his tail in a frustrated manner. “Starclan finally spoke to me.”

Well, it was about time Starclan gave them answers. “Do they know what happened to Firestar?” he said, hope prevalent in his voice. Jayfeather cringed, and Brambleclaw's hope immediately died. The look on Jayfeather's face wasn't a good thing.

“They... they don't know what happened to him.” Brambleclaw blinked. What? How could Starclan not know what happens to the living cats? They watched over them for a reason! Jayfeather gave another cringe when he voiced these thoughts.

“They don't know what happened to him, but Brambleclaw... they said that you needed to receive your nine lives.” The sentence was like a hundred claws to the face. Starclan wanted him to get his nine lives?

“I'm not becoming leader! Firestar might be out there somewhere and Starclan already wants me to replace him? Do they have no faith?!” he spat out.

“I don't like it either. But, they said that they couldn't sense him. At all. And all his lives that were roaming Starclan have also disappeared.” Total silence. Brambleclaw's mouth opened and closed, but no noise or words came out. He was glad that Jayfeather was blind so he couldn't see Brambleclaw's absolute broken expression on his face. He sat down on his haunches heavily.

“...Anything else?” he meowed brokenly. Jayfeather gave another frustrated sigh. “I'm not sure if this counts as bad news in particular, but something destroyed the Dark Forest.”

Brambleclaw was once again thrown into speechlessness. That should have been great news. The clans didn't need to fight the Dark Forest anymore and no one would be killed. But the only thing it did was bring up questions He twitched his whiskers into a frown, “Does Starclan know what destroyed them?” He wasn't expecting an answer. If Jayfeather didn't specify before, then either Starclan didn't tell him or they didn't know either.

“They don't know. All they have is a strange scent to go by.” Of course they didn't know. Why didn't that surprise him? But a strange scent?

Jayfeather gave a huff. “Look, I don't have all the answers and I'm not going to pretend like I do. All I know is that I have to take you to the Moonpool tonight so you can get your nine lives.”

Brambleclaw nodded until he remembered that Jayfeather couldn't see it. “Ri-right.” Jayfeather hesitated before giving him a lick between in his ears. He knew this was hitting Brambleclaw hard.

Brambleclaw trudged back into the warriors den and plopped onto his nest. He would need to call a clan meeting, declare Firestar dead, pick a deputy... He curled up in a tight ball. Why was he constantly losing cats close to him? Even though there were still some warriors sleeping within the den, he still felt lonely.

' _Firestar, please. Where are you? I can't do this alone. I need you.'_

A few galaxies away, a God heard his cries and wishes. He gave a wistful sigh and tapped his hoof onto darkness a few times, connecting his aura with the cat that was his son in all but blood.

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His pawsteps felt heavy as Brambleclaw trudged up the path leading to the Moonpool. The clan hadn't taken his announcement of Firestar's death well. Graystripe and Sandstorm looked so lost. Squirrelflight and Leafpool were distraught, but not as much as he thought they would be. Perhaps being a medicine cat for so long dulled Leafpool's connection with her parents. He pushed down his anger at the thought of Squirrelflight, who had no excuse for not being devastated at her father's death.

' _What did I ever see in her?'_ he thought to himself bitterly. The clan was currently holding vigil for Firestar and couldn't even join them. His nine lives came first.

He stood before the Moonpool and Jayfeather instructed him to lay down and take a drink. He did so and waited for sleep to claim him. He woke up to the sound of whispers and murmuring. He was standing in a starlit clearing, filled with glowing cats with pelts of starlight. His heart clenched as he scanned the rows of Starclan cats, recognizing familiar cats he knew in life.

“Welcome Brambleclaw.” The clearing was suddenly filled with the voices of multiple cats speaking in perfect unison, and he couldn't tell which cats were speaking. “Are you ready to receive your nine lives?”

He swallowed back a lump of emotion. “I'm ready.” He had to show he could be a strong leader.

And so it began, cats he knew and some cats he didn't know coming up to him giving him a life. Cats he knew, such as Goldenflower, his mother, Feathertail, his dear friend from their journey together, Cinderpelt, a former medicine cat, and surprisingly Ravenpaw, the cat who stayed behind in the old forest.

There were cats he didn't recognize or know in life. Goldenflower never really spoke of Lionheart, who he know knew as his uncle. The only thing he knew about him was that he was a former Thunderclan deputy who died long before he was born.

He missed some of these cats, but throughout the ceremony Brambleclaw kept looking out into the crowd, hoping to see Firestar's ginger pelt. He didn't know why he was getting his hopes up when he knew that even Starclan didn't know what happened to his leader. Firestar wasn't going to appear here.

The final cat, Bluestar came up to him. She was just like he remembered her to be, minus the insanity that plagued her in her final moons, calling her clan traitors. Though, he didn't remember her having a flower on her ear before.

“Brambleclaw, you have walked a long and difficult path to reach this point. But you have proven your loyalty to ThunderClan more times than I can count. I am proud to see my Clan pass into your care.” She reached up and touched his nose. “I give you a life for clear judgment of character, for the ability to see the value of some cats, and the threat posed by others.”

This life washed through Brambleclaw’s mind like an ice-cold river, making his ears ring and dazzling his eyes with light. He felt a stab of loneliness, as if the life was reminding him that some decisions would be his alone, and the fate of every cat in his Clan would depend upon him making the right choice. The loneliness only amplified his already present feelings of being alone within his own clan.

He could faintly hear the Starclan cats calling him by his new name. But as soon as the feelings and emotions from receiving the last life passed, Bramblestar's vision was obscured by a flash of light, then darkness.

What was this? Where was he? He looked down to see a giant, glowing rock, filled with some kind of hot, burning red-ish liquid. His eyes widened as he saw _something_ stand in the middle of the chaos, a ginger furred...horse with golden hooves and some kind of golden fence attached to it. It was cloaked in a golden aura. The ginger almost reminded him of Firestar's fur, he reminisced mournfully. The creature looked beautiful.

The creature wasn't bothered by the sloshing liquid around it. The fence and the golden areas started glowing before shifting to a blue color. A sphere of water formed at its head, and the creature reared its head and shot the orb of water into the sky. Within seconds, a storm had formed, rain pouring onto the burning ground and- Bramblestar's eyes widened as the rock quickly filled with water, only a few large pieces of land still visible from above the surface. How had this place filled up so quickly?

It was like he was at the sun-drown-place all over again. He watched the creature's coloring return to normal and it dipped its hoof into the water, the tip glowing and sending ripples across the water. The ocean under him lit up briefly before it died down.

The creature was flying through the air now, hovering next to him, admiring its work. Just as he thought that this was some kind of vision, its eyes shifted and Bramblestar realized that it _could see him._ Its red eyes were piercing into his very being, like it knew every part of Bramblestar better than he himself knew.

Its eyes were shining with love and pride. He was confused- why was the creature showing those emotions to him? Shouldn't it be confused over the fact that he was here or be prideful in dousing the fire this rock had been? He couldn't help but admire its beautiful eyes.

His vision went black, and he found in alarm that the memory of the creature was fading from his mind. No! He wanted to remember! He didn't want to forget what he just saw. He had seen something amazing!

_'Please! I just want to... want to..'_ Why couldn't he remember? He could only recall pieces of it.

The exhaustion from his nine lives ceremony caught up with him, and just before he drifted off into sleep, he heard an achingly familiar voice.

“You've come such a long way Bramblestar. I couldn't be more proud!”

The voice made him happy for some reason. A tear ran down from his eye as he drifted into complete darkness.

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* * *

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Arceus stood on the newborn planet, the magma and lava spewing into the air not harming him in the least. He remembered Earth being like this, so long ago. He desired for his own creations to develop the land themselves, see what they could do. He was very pleased with those results. Now he wanted to try and sculpt this planet by himself.

He reached down into himself and activated his Splash Plate, the golden areas on his body turning aqua blue. He formed a sphere of water by his head, even though there were no water particles formed yet on the planet. He had willed it into creation. He thrust the sphere into the sky, and a planet sized storm formed instantly.

He watched as the burning rock finally cooled down and filled up with water, all the rain slidding off his form and leaving him dry. He saw the tallest rock formations become islands. That was fine- this world would continuously shift and more land would arise from the ocean anyway. Land wouldn't be needed until later.

He deactivated the Splash Plate, his blue fur turning back to gold. He floated down and dipped a hoof into the water. It glowed briefly and sent ripples across the ocean. He floated upwards and admired his work. He had just planted the seeds of life with that act. Soon enough, there would be new organisms living in this ocean, growing and changing and _evolving_.

His eyes shifted to the spot he knew Bramblestar was watching him from. He was happy with what he just accomplished, but he was more joyful with the fact that Bramblestar had received his nine lives. He could sense Bramblestar's surprise, his curiosity, his confusion, and his fear. He couldn't blame him for being scared, suddenly being thrown into a vision and seeing a creature such as Arceus.

Firestar's emotions rose up within him. ' _Bramblestar, can't you see what I've done? I just willed life into existence! It shouldn't be so new to me, because part of me has been doing this since even before time began. But I'm so amazed at what I can do now. No one would ever believe that I would become a God a few moons ago.'_

He was proud of what he was, his two components content flowing through him. But he was more proud of Bramblestar, who he sensed was being brought back into the waking world. He spoke directly into Bramblestar's mind, bearing in mind to use Firestar's voice, even though Arceus knew that Bramblestar wouldn't truly remember what he just witnessed.

It still wasn't time to come to him yet. But Bramblestar needed some reassurance, so he gave it to him.

“You've come such a long way Bramblestar. I couldn't be more proud!”

Bramblestar's fleeting feelings of happiness strangely made him just as happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've still got plans for Brambo.
> 
> I didn't add every single cat from Bramblestar's nine lives ceremony because 1: Mousefur and Ferncloud are still alive and Firestar is quite obviously elsewhere and 2: because I didn't want the chapter to focus on the ceremony :P
> 
> I meant for Bramblestar to announce Firestar's death at the Gathering to, but I felt like the chapter was long enough. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.


	8. Gathering Murder Mystery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bramblestar finally acts like a leader

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I decided it was time for an update. So I'm gonna say it's been...anywhere from a few days to almost a moon since the last chapter. Since then, Bramblestar has been trying to be a leader and Arceus was busy doing creation stuff. 
> 
> I'm not expecting people to review/comment for this fic in particular; I get like one comment/review per chapter for this. But I just wanted to push the story along cause I felt like it. 
> 
> Every hit, kudos, and comments means a lot to me!

Bramblestar was nervous. He had never been nervous regarding Gatherings before, never paying them any mind. Firestar would take the lead and give his report while Bramblestar would sit at the Great Oak's roots with the other deputies, showing his authority but otherwise not doing anything. All eyes were always on the leaders, unless some cat drew attention to themselves.

But he wasn't deputy anymore. He was leader, and he had to take Firestar's place atop the Great Oak with the other leaders. Plus he had to explain why he was taking Firestar's place.

“So am I going or do I have to stay in camp like the rest of the clans want,” Jayfeather complained. That was the other issue of the night: the accusation on Jayfeather. The other leaders agreed to strip Jayfeather of his medicine cat title until Jayfeather was proven to not have killed Flametail. Until then, he wasn't allowed at Gatherings or the half-moon medicine cat meetings.

Bramblestar gave a growl; until someone talked to Flametail in Starclan or Starclan came to them, nothing would be solved. Dawnpelt would just continuously screech and shift blame onto any cat she could instead of Shadowclan. Honestly, it wasn't as if Jayfeather pushed Flametail onto the frozen lake, he decided to play around on it himself.

“Leafpool is a warrior now and if you don't go, we have no medicine cat representing Thunderclan. You're going and that's final.”

As they arrived at the Gathering island, he felt a twinge of nervousness before forcing himself to stamp it out. This was wrong; it should be Firestar leading this patrol to the Gathering, it should be Firestar addressing the clans, not him.

He steeled his nerves and strode forward into the clearing, his clanmates trailing behind him. He was given odd looks as he bounded up onto a branch near the other leaders. Jayfeather strode over to the other medicine cats, ignoring the hisses and insults being thrown his way. The other medicine cats looked uncomfortable.

Blackstar yowled for everyone's attention before turning to Bramblestar. “Brambleclaw, where is Firestar? Is he sick?”

Bramblestar gave a heavy sigh. “Firestar has been officially declared dead,” he meowed, inwardly struggling to say the words. It was one thing to think it, but now he really did have to admit that Firestar was gone.

The leaders and the three clans below flinched in shock. “What do you mean “declared dead”? What happened?” Mistystar asked.

“He went out for a walk and didn't come back. We followed his scent trail and it led to a giant hole in the ground,” he swallowed hard, “We think the ground collapsed as he walked over it and fell in. There's no way he could have survived such a deep fall,” he meowed sadly.

“There's- there's no way- he's gone, just like that?” Onestar stammered in confusion. Bramblestar gave a sad nod, and Onestar looked down at his paws, a shocked look in his eyes.

“I- I never got to tell him...” Onestar trailed off. He started mumbling to himself but it was too low for Bramblestar to hear. The other two leaders looked equally conflicted, unable to understand how a cat as big as life as Firestar could just... die in such a manner. Here one moment and gone the next.

Blackstar shook his head. “Why did you bring Jayfeather here when you know what he's done?” he said, trying to change the subject.

“I don't know what he's done; refresh my memory would you?” Bramblestar growled.

“Don't act dumb; you know he killed my brother!” Dawnpelt screeched from below. He gave her a glare and the Thunderclan cats all hissed at her.

“We agreed that the medicine cats would wait for Starclan's answer or did you forget?” Blackstar growled.

“Well it's been a full moon since then. Have Starclan come into your medicine cat's dreams to tell them that Jayfeather is guilty or innocent yet?” Bramblestar countered. He received no answer. He rolled his eyes.

“Are you telling me you've all had one moon, as well as the half-moon meeting to contact Starclan and we still don't have an answer?” he pressed. The other leaders looked uncomfortable and averted their gazes.

“So Dawnpelt is accusing Jayfeather of murder because she has too much pride in her brother and clan to even think of blaming them for Flametail's apparent death. So she accused Jayfeather knowing that he was the only non-Shadowclan cat at the scene and could easily blame him.”

“We saw Jayfeather jump into the water after Flametail!” A Shadowclan cat yelled up at him.

“So Jayfeather jumped in after Flametail and you automatically assumed he did so in order to kill him? Did it occur to anyone that maybe Jayfeather was trying to save Flametail and failed to do so since he was trying to swim upwards with the weight of two cats dragging him down while swimming in cold water and trying to find the hole to the surface all at once?” he deadpanned.

No one was able to counter his claims. He could hear murmuring from below him, the cats on the ground trying to make sense of the events that happened.

“This was a baseless accusation made by a cat whose mad at her brother's death. She didn't need to blame my medicine cat of murder because he failed to save him,” he spat at Blackstar. Blackstar shuffled his paws on the branch, trying to think of a way to turn the situation around. He sighed in defeat when he couldn't think of any reason why Jayfeather would want to kill Flametail. There was no motivation.

“Perhaps we were mistaken in our accusations then.” He turned to gaze down at Jayfeather. “On behalf of Shadowclan, we apologize for accusing you of murder. You were just trying to save Flametail and we were mad because he couldn't be saved.”

Jayfeather glared at him. “Just because you apologized doesn't mean I forgive you. You think I didn't claw myself up for my failure to save him?” he growled.

“Never accuse any of my cats without proof next time, and that goes for all of you,” he hissed at the other leaders. They all averted their gazes, muttering half-hearted apologies. He bounded down the Great Oak and signaled his cats to follow. He wasn't up for sticking around and mingling with cats.

“You really acted like a leader tonight,” Sandstorm commented as she padded alongside him. There was an air of repressed sadness coming from her, and he knew that she was still hurting from the loss of her mate.

“I know Firestar would be proud. He's probably watching and smiling down from Starclan,” she sighed wistfully, a strained smile on her face. He held back a wince, not having the heart to tell her that Firestar wasn't in Starclan.

“Ye-yeah. I bet he's real proud,” he sent a strained smile back at her. She fell back behind him to speak with Squirrelflight, her daughter and Thunderclan's new deputy. Why had he chosen Squirrelflight as his deputy again?

His smile faded and was replaced by a heavy frown. ' _At least, I hope he's proud, where ever he is.'_

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* * *

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' _Ah, I suppose he's finally ready to see the truth._ ' Indeed, Arceus had been watching the Gathering from his place in the newly born galaxy, shaping various planets to his liking. He knew this Gathering in particular would be a mess to deal with. He had been officially declared dead and Bramblestar managed to shoot down Dawnpelt's ridiculous accusations against Jayfeather.

The she-cat hadn't wanted to admit that maybe Flametail shouldn't have been fooling around on literal thin ice and tried to find a scapegoat, unable to place blame on her brother. Honestly, the gall of that she-cat.

But part of him was proud to watch Bramblestar hold his head up high and act the leader he was. He gave a hum as he walked along the rocky ground of a planet, his Meadow Plate having been activated and turning his gold coloring into green. The rocky ground turned into fertile soil, and trees and other types of foliage sprung up as he walked forward. This planet was mostly complete, and he had already shaped enough planets to his liking.

Perhaps it was time to finally give his final goodbyes to Thunderclan, tell Bramblestar what really happened to him. He knew that Bramblestar was ready enough to handle the revelation. They say patience is a virtue, but the part of him that was Arceus longed to go home and greet his children and creations.

After adding a few final touches, he galloped out of the planet's atmosphere and raced towards a nearby nebula of stardust. He floated down gently and tucked in his legs and activated his Mind Plate, the gold on his forehead and hooves turning a a pinkish-red. He closed his eyes and reached out and connected with the cat whose aura he was still connected too, before reaching further and pulling the auras of all the Thunderclan cats. It was finally time.

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* * *

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Bramblestar opened his eyes, and he couldn't see anything but little white dots in a vast sea of black. He frowned, were those stars? He heard groans from behind him and he turned to see all of Thunderclan waking up, many cats gasping at the scenery around them. Others murmured to themselves and to each other, wondering how they had ended up here.

Was this a dream from Starclan?

“Well, you've certainly cemented yourself as Thunderclan's leader haven't you? You've been doing well so far.” Cats froze at the familiar voice, and he turned back around to see a familiar ginger cat in front of him. His back was turned, and he was doing something with his forepaws, but Bramblestar could never forget who was in front of him.

It was Firestar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no a cliffhanger I hate those! Arceus finally decides that Bramblestar can handle the truth that his leader/predecessor/father-figure is a god now. There are two ways I've envisioned the next chapter to go but I'm still not sure which one to pick. 
> 
> In the actual books Firestar didn't bring Jayfeather to this Gathering. Jayfeather had to use his powers to bring himself into Starclan and seek out Flametail, who was being petulant about Jayfeather's inability to save him, in order to bring Flametail to the other medicine cats to clear his name and give the whole "we must unite against the Dark Forest" speech. 
> 
> Because there's no Dark Forest, there's no need for Starclan to unite and no reason for Jayfeather to use his powers to get Starclan to unite. There's no reason for Flametail to just dive in the medicine cat's dreams to give his side of the story because giving out direct answers isn't how Starclan typically rolls. So with no answer, Bramblestar said "screw it" and brought Jayfeather anyway. I just needed a chapter for Bramblestar to show how much a leader he could be.
> 
> But the whole Jayfeather-Flametail thing was ridiculous to start with. It's also the reason why I kinda hate Dawnpelt. 
> 
> Tell me how I did.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Arceus could see and hear whilst imprisoned. He could also smell and taste, but all he could smell and taste were the crystal and cavern he was in. Not that he particularly needs taste or smell...  
> 2\. The Dark Forest got yeeted out of existence. Arceus saved Tigerstar for last though, and enjoyed the look on his face when Tigerstar realized that the thing that killed everything was actually Firestar. He couldn't think about it for too long though, cause he got Judgement'd pretty quick.  
> 3\. Starclan stopped being able to sense Firestar's remaining lives the moment he started transforming. Arceus discreetly went into Starclan and reclaimed the lives Firestar lost there. Starclan never noticed cause they were too busy freaking out. Then they saw what happened to the Dark Forest...  
> 4\. Thunderclan freaked out when their leader didn't return. He had told the guards that he was going for a walk but never returned. They tried following his scent trail and found the hole he fell into. Thunderclan put two and two together. Brambleclaw didn't want to believe his father figure and leader was dead nor did he want to get nine lives and had to be told by Starclan themselves that Firestar never joined them and if he was still alive, they couldn't sense him.  
> 4\. Speaking of, Bramblestar never got over Firestar's disappearance. The other clans had a weird sense of loss when it was announced that Firestar was dead.  
> 5\. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Dovewing, and Ivypool were pretty confused when the Dark Forest stopped visiting Ivypool. Jayfeather used his powers and quickly found out that the DF was not only gone, but destroyed entirely.  
> 6\. Cannon says Firestar is the Fourth. I headcannon that Firestar's "power" was basically being the heart of the team. As long as Firestar is alive, the Three keep their powers. When he died, the three lost their powers, which coincidentally, is when the prophecy ended anyway. But because he didn't die here, the Three still have their powers, but the prophecy is over.  
> 7\. Is the Origin Cult real? Not really, I made them up. I was inspired by the cults from Pokemon Insurgence though.


End file.
